Gas turbine engines may typically include a compressor, a combustor, and a turbine, with an annular flow path extending axially through each. Air flows through the compressor where it is compressed or pressurized. The combustor then mixes and ignites the compressed air with fuel, generating hot combustion gases. These hot combustion gases are then directed from the combustor to the turbine where power is extracted from the hot gases by causing blades of the turbine to rotate.
The compressor and turbine sections of the engine include airfoil arrays, such as multiple alternating stages of rotor blades and stator vanes. These airfoil arrays may include features, such as endwall contouring, cored serpentine passages, cross-platform serpentine passages, and the like, to mitigate endwall losses, cool the platforms from which the airfoils extend, and better enhance the overall performance of the engine. For various reasons, airfoil arrays may need to be worked or repaired. For example, new airfoil cluster castings may need to be improved upon or employed airfoil arrays may need to be repaired due to damage from extremely high temperatures.
Currently, repair methods have involved cutting apart airfoil clusters and joining a salvaged part with another salvaged part or a new part. However, these current repair methods have not accounted for features, such as end wall contouring, cored serpentine passages, or cross-platform serpentine passages, in the airfoil arrays, which require precise alignment of the joined parts. Accordingly, there exists a need for a reliable method to repair, or otherwise work, airfoil arrays. This invention is directed to solving this need and others.